Lessons Learned
by clarinet-alto-4ever
Summary: When Hermione and Severus run into each other again, will the feelings she once felt for him resurface? Can Severus learn from the past and make this relationship work? Sequel to Pros and Cons. HG/SS Non-DH compliant.
1. Kathleen

A/N: This story is a sequel to my story "Pros and Cons." As of now, you can probably read this without having read the first, but I don't know if/when I might throw in a reference to the previous story. It might be beneficial for you to read it at some point before getting really deep into this one.

For my beloved followers of P&C, this takes place a good fiveish years from where we left off. That isn't made very clear in this first chapter, but it will probably be referenced later. Just so you know.

_I've heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn and we are led to those who help us most to grow, if we let them. _- Wicked

Kathleen Vaughn was nobody special. She was not a war hero, nor had she cured any great disease. She was not a high ranking ministry official, nor did she sit on the Wizengamot. She wasn't a Potion Mistress, an Animagi, a Charmer, a Historian, or a Healer. She was just Kathleen.

She had grown up in the British countryside with her parents and younger brother. Her parents were middle-class wizards. They weren't necessarily of high class pure blood, nor did they take sides with Death-Eaters, but nor were they muggles. At age eleven she went to Hogwarts as a first year. She was sorted into Ravenclaw and her years at Hogwarts were nothing exciting as far as she was concerned.

After graduating, she had traveled abroad for a few years. Kathleen felt it was important to have knowledge of the world around her. She spent a year in Salem learning about the American witches and wizards. A few months in other European countries and a quick trip to Asia and she was back home in the UK.

Upon return to home, Kathleen accepted a job at Flourish and Blotts as an average sales manager. She shelved new books, weeded through older books that weren't going to sell, helped people find what they were looking for, and worked the cash register. Nothing exciting.

How she managed to end up dating one the war's greatest heroes, she would never know.

It started off rather simply. He had come into the bookstore to buy a book. No words besides the usual were exchanged. No breathless moments or stares happened. A man bought a book from a bookstore and a woman helped him out.

It actually wasn't until her coworker, Lucile Marks, whispered to her after he left, "Isn't that Severus Snape, the renowned spy and war hero?"

Kathleen did a double take. Was that him? Was that the Potions Master she had once known at school, now a retired, but famous teacher? As she thought about it, she realized Lucile was right.

Kathleen didn't give another thought to the man until the next time he came in the store two weeks later.

She had been organizing some of the Potions books when he came in again. He walked purposefully close to where she was busy with the many books on the subject. His eyes wandered the shelves in a way that told her he was looking for something very specific. Trying not to appear conspicuous, she had studied the man. His dark hair hung in a ponytail that came down just past his neck, and his sallow skin hadn't darkened at all in the years it had been since she'd seen him last besides the brief encounter two weeks ago. She would have thought with the war over, he might have not been as stressed, upset, and almost sickly. Inwardly shrugging it off, she also noticed his still billowing robes. They were plain black robes probably from Madam Malkin's and not fancy at all considering the wealth she had heard he had through the grapevine.

She clicked out of her observation when he cleared his throat. _Oops, _she thought, _I got caught staring._ "Can I help you, sir?" she spoke out loud.

"Quite. I'm looking for the newest edition of _Advanced Potion Making_," he said shortly.

"Of course," she had replied softly, still a bit embarrassed at being caught staring. "We keep our newest books out in front. If you'll follow me."

They walked out front together and she handed him a copy of the new book. He checked it over, flipped through a few pages, and declared he'd like to buy it. Ringing up his book and wrapping it for the second time, she couldn't help but notice him this time. With trembling hands she handed him his change and the package. He promptly left the building with not so much as a second glance.

Lucile bounded out from the back, obviously having watched the entire scene, and let out a low whistle. "See, I told you that was him. Not too bad to look at, eh?"

Kathleen, still staring after the man, shook her head. "Not bad at all."

Time passed and Kathleen made note of when and how often Severus Snape visited Flourish and Blotts. She felt like the silliest stalker school girl, but she found she couldn't help herself. He seemed to only come in on Tuesdays. Much to her dismay, she only worked every other Tuesday, and couldn't think of a decent excuse to be at the shop while not working. Nevertheless, she made Tuesdays her "out" days so she could at least be around Diagon Alley and perhaps bump into him.

And bump into him, she did. The first Tuesday of her meditated hunt she ran into him at the local Apothecary and asked his help in selecting the best beetle eyes for her headache potion. When he came in the following Tuesday, she helped him find a book on theoretical transfiguration. The next she was sitting at Fortescue's ice cream shop when she saw him walk by. Her wave to him merited a nod of his head back. _Improving_, she thought.

Kathleen found herself living for Tuesdays and those around her began to worry. Even Lucile, who had been so supportive in the beginning, began to doubt the healthiness of her friend's continued obsession. But, Kathleen would brush off any kind of concerns her friends had and went along as usual.

And it paid off. About two months after Severus had first caught Kathleen's eye is when the path turned for the better. She was sitting at the Leaky Cauldron very absorbed in her book and not really paying attention to the passersby when a shadow befell the table. Curious, she looked up and to her surprise and delight, found the object of her focus standing there. He had asked if he could join her, citing the bookshop as how he recognized her. She immediately gestured for him to sit down.

They didn't leave until long after they had ordered and eaten dinner. Severus had then asked if he might call on her at a later date and after she had said yes and he left, Kathleen had to stop herself from jumping with joy in the middle of the pub.

And here she was, almost two years after she had first seen him in the bookstore, his girlfriend. They had been officially dating for a little over a year of that and she couldn't remember a time when she had been happier, for the most part.

The big press buzz about ten months ago when it had gone public that Severus Snape supposedly had a women in his life had been a bit annoying for her and twice as annoying to him. She almost thought he might break up with her over it and there had been a spectacular fight. Thankfully, she had won out and they were still together, but it was defiantly a rough patch there for awhile. Even more so recently, she thought things were becoming more and more serious.

But then, men are so impossible to read sometimes. As of recently, any time she tried to steer a conversation towards engagement and marriage, Severus promptly changed the subject. And for her, it was starting to get frustrating. Much as she loved Severus, she wanted to get married, not just be the girlfriend and mistress of a war hero all her life. However, he did not. And she couldn't understand why. About a month ago she had found a notebook of his. It couldn't have been too old; she thought it might have been some notes of his on potions he was trying to improve. But when she opened it, she found it contained half finished letters dated some five years or so ago. He had marked most of them out heavily, but from what she could make out, he had been trying to write to a woman asking for her forgiveness. In one version of the letter, he had even asked her to marry him. She had often wondered who this woman was, but seeing as how she had slightly been snooping when she found the notebook, there was no way she could ask Severus without admitting to her activities.

Kathleen sighed as she finished her musings. Looking at the time, she decided to pull some dinner together. She hadn't seen Severus in a few days since he'd been out and about across the country doing routine work for his private potions business. They had planned to have a nice dinner together in just an hour. There was cooking to be done.

She busied herself making a lasagna and caser salad. While she cooked she thought about how she could again broach the topic of taking the next step in their relationship. Was there any way she hadn't tried yet? She didn't think so. She had tried talking of her friends' engagements and weddings (he merely gave her an "ok" and "mmhmmm"); she had told him stories of her own childhood dreams (he had raised his eyebrow at these and she thought she had caught a sneer when he thought she wasn't looking); she had even left a few copies of _Witch Bridal_ laying around the house. Nothing had worked. Perhaps it was time to throw subtlety out the window and go for direct.

Pulling the lasagna out of the oven, she heard the front door open. She took a few deep calming breaths as she made up her mind to ask him directly tonight at dinner. His footsteps neared as he came into the kitchen.

"Ah, Kathleen, it smells delicious," Severus said coming up behind her and placing a kiss on her cheek.

Kathleen smiled, "Thank you; I thought I'd cook without magic tonight. Always seems better that way. Sit down; I'll have it on the table in just a minute."

She brought in two platefuls of the steaming lasagna and they began eating in silence. She soon broke it asking, "How was your trip, Severus?"

He looked up at her, "Quite productive, thank you. I have renewed most of my contracts on this sixth month turnabout. Only ones left are St. Mungo's here in another three months and the Department of Magical Games and Sports in another six when Quidditch season starts up again."

Smiling, she nodded. "Excellent, then."

"Indeed, yes."

They went back to eating with mindless chatter of the last couple of days passing between them. A quiet silence fell across the table and Kathleen took a deep breath. Almost losing her courage, she put down her fork, "Severus?"

He looked up from his plate, "Yes, dear?"

"I have something I want to talk to you about. Something rather important."

"Of course, what is it?" His eyes showed concern for he had picked up the hesitance in her voice.

She tried not to let her voice waver. "Have you . . . given any thought recently about . . . about our . . . about . . . us?

He visibly stiffened and she immediately bit her lip in anticipation of his response. Putting his fork down, he also took a deep breath. "I had . . . expected you would bring this up sooner or later. I have not been completely blind to your not-so-subtle suggestions, but I thought we had had this conversation quite awhile ago."

Kathleen avoided his eyes as she thought back to _that_ conversation. "I . . . suppose I was just hop . . . wondering that your thoughts had changed since then."

Severus hesitated, "I'm afraid not, Kathleen. I thought we had had that understanding from the beginning. I'm not a marrying man."

And with that statement, Kathleen lost her temper. She knew damn well that wasn't true. All logic left her mind as everything she had been holding in for the past few months let loose. "That's not true and you know it!" She saw the surprise light up in his eyes. "Yes, I know about her the other woman you almost proposed to, so don't you dare say that you're not a marrying man."

Severus' shock was apparent when his eyes widened further in surprise, but they soon narrowed as he realized what she had done. "How dare you. You've gone through my private notebooks?" he asked in the quiet silky voice he hadn't used since his teaching days.

"Not on purpose. I was cleaning up and they were lying around. Thinking it was something else, I picked it up and flipped through it. I didn't do it on purpose," she argued back defensively.

Snape stood up. "It doesn't matter whether it was on purpose or not," he started.

Kathleen interrupted before he could finish, "We shouldn't be keeping secrets from each other in the first place!"

"That was five years ago, Kathleen, and it didn't mean anything. It was a fleeting thing that I haphazardly wrote down on a piece of paper and never sent."

But the pain that shot through his eyes told Kathleen something different. However, she blinked and it was gone. Coming to the realization, she whispered, "No . . . you're still in love with this girl, aren't you?"

Snape seethed at her. "That's nonsense. I can't believe you would think that of me. I won't stay here and hear false accusations against my feelings for you." And with that,, he apparated away.

Kathleen stared at the spot he had been standing for a good five minutes before dragging herself to her bedroom to cry.


	2. 3 Months Later

A/N: And it is again break time from college and I have time to write! (Even though I ought to be writing music . . . whatever.)

I have plans for the next chapter already in progress, so if you're really good/lucky, you might get another chapter before the new year. Possible? Quite so.

Severus Snape was angry to say the least. Irate or enraged were probably more accurate adjectives to describe how he was feeling at the moment. His temper only grew shorter as he grew older and it still flared up on a semi-regular basis.

He couldn't believe she had snooped through his belongings and found that damn letter – a letter he thought he had destroyed.

He paused from his incessant pacing. _No,_ he thought, _I didn't after all._ It had been a reminder to him of when he realized he was not destined to be alone.

Enough of that. It wasn't the point. _She_ had invaded his privacy and accused him of being unfaithful to her . . . emotionally anyways. But to Severus Snape, it was just as bad as physically. He had spent too many years of his life being "emotionally unfaithful" to Voldemort. As hypocritical as it might seem, Severus did not approve of cheating and was certainly insulted at being accused of it.

He hadn't seen Hermione Granger since she graduated Hogwarts . . . five years ago? And since meeting Kathleen, he hadn't thought of her until this evening. But dammit if now he couldn't remove her from his mind.

He strode over to the tallest kitchen cabinet where he kept his stash of alcohol and pulled down some Ogden's Firewhiskey. Not bothering to pour a glass, he took a large gulp straight from the bottle. Settling down on the couch, he turned on a Muggle CD player and drank away his anger to nocturnes.

**A few days later.**

The Potions Master woke to an owl hooting and pecking at his window. Groaning, he stood up only to be accosted by a splitting headache. He stumbled to the window and allowed the pesky bird entrance. The owl hooted indignantly at having to wait and stuck out his leg.

Severus removed the letter. "You'll not get a treat from me," he snapped at the owl. The owl then bit the man on the ear before flying out the window. "Damn owl," he swore as he tossed aside the letter. He went in search of a hangover potion which he quickly downed. It had become habit over the past few days. He had not seen nor heard from Kathleen at all since their argument. Being the stubborn man he was, he would not contact her first, but rather felt that she owed him an apology. Perhaps that was what this letter was.

When the potion started to take effect, Snape returned to the letter and with a clearer mind began to read.

_My dearest Severus,_

_I know this isn't the best way to communicate my feelings to you, but under the circumstances it seemed the best._

_I know that you are upset with me and I understand why. However, I want you to know that I had no malicious intents when I found that letter. I didn't even think much of it till last week when we began arguing._

_Furthermore, these have been some of the best times of my life over the past two years, but perhaps you were right when you did say you weren't a marrying man. You're not a marrying man when it comes to me. What we had was good, but after stepping back and looking at it from a different point of view, we would not last in the long term._

_And so, perhaps this argument was indeed a catalyst for the inevitable. I hope that somewhere down the road perhaps we can still be friends. Come visit me at the bookshop._

_Sincerely,_

_Kathleen_

_**3 months later.**_

Hermione Granger sat diligently at her desk doing paperwork on a Monday morning. Monday mornings were always paperwork days for her, and indeed, her least favorite days.

Not that Healer Granger didn't like to be organized. That was hardly the case at all. In fact, many of the Healers, sometimes even the older ones, would come to her asking for help on some paper project that needed to be done.

However, as much as Hermione did actually enjoy organizing things, she just simply preferred being out and about in the hospital _doing_ things.

Even just checking stats of the patients was interesting to her. She also enjoyed talking to the different people, especially some of the longer term residents.

But, nevertheless, it was Monday morning again and she was at the front desk doing paperwork. It had been a relatively quiet morning thus far. Only two patients had been admitted. One was for a charm gone wrong and the other a simple check up for an expecting witch.

When the door rang to announce somebody's entrance into the main foyer, Hermione didn't look up right away, but merely stated her usual greeting. "Good morning and welcome to St. Mungo's. How may I assist you today?"

"I'm here to consult with someone about the renewal of my contract with St. Mungo's concerning potions work," said a voice Hermione had not heard in years. She looked up into the face of the man who had taught her potions for seven years at Hogwarts.

"Why, Professor Snape, fancy seeing you here. I knew you had a contract with us, but I've never seen you around." Hermione managed not to trip over her words. Here, even five years later, the man still caused her breath to shorten and her heartbeat to increase.

"I am not a professor at Hogwarts anymore and you are a university graduate. It would be acceptable to call me Severus."

"Of course, I had heard of your retirement. If you'll wait just a minute, I'll go fetch the Head Healer so you may speak with her about your contract." Snape nodded approval and Hermione quickly went to the back to find her superior.

She didn't see Snape again that day, but he wouldn't leave her mind. On her lunch break back at her flat, she found herself digging up the old articles she had kept about his love life that had been so rudely printed by Rita Skeeter awhile back.

Back at the office, she couldn't help but wonder what he was up to nowadays. She knew from the papers that he had retired and started up his own potions business. And last she heard, it was growing. He had contracts with many wealthy business, obviously including St. Mungo's.

Hermione tried to focus on the general queries she had about him, but in the back of her head, the same question continue to plague her. Were he and that girl still together? What was her name again? Kelly? Carol? Hermione couldn't remember, but she couldn't help but wonder.

It wasn't like she had been longing after Severus Snape for the past five years. That was hardly the case at all. She and Robert whom she had met in a potions class at Avalon had dated faithfully for most of their years together there. It wasn't until he decided he wanted to travel and take a job in America and she firmly wanted to stay near to home that they decided to amiably go their separate ways.

Ginny had set her up on a few blind dates since then, but nobody had really sent sparks off. Hermione was content to stay single for the time being, even if her mother continually nagged her about wanting to see her grandbabies before she died.

Finally as she put down her book that night to fall asleep, her thoughts once more strayed to the tall, dark man. Her last few thoughts were that it was just because she had just seen him again that these thoughts were surfacing again.


	3. Lunch

A/N: Sure has been awhile . . . sorry. Busy, busy, busy, but I graduate in December! Things ought to cool down after that . . . maybe?

Severus Snape thought it was ironic to see Hermione Granger again so soon after he and Kathleen had broken up. She had changed. A lot. Not for the worse, for the better. She was older for sure (but then, so was he, damn it), but something in her demeanor. She was no longer a school, that was for certain.

All through the next week, he couldn't remove her from his mind. She was like a constant plague upon his thoughts. Whether it was reliving that brief moment at St. Mungo's, or traveling further into the past to her 7th year and the graduation ball, she was always there. He found himself wondering if there was a chance for them now. Hadn't she said something like that in her letter all those years ago? No, he remembered, it was just for friendship.

Between thoughts of her and berating himself for acting like an obsessive teenager, the next two weeks went by painfully slowly. It was time for his next visit to St. Mungo's. He had just negotiated a new potion with them on his last visit, and they asked him to check in with them to make sure everything was working out ok.

On the appointed date, he apparated to the closest apparition point near the hospital. With robes billowing, he made his way through the main entrance and up the elevator. The doors opened and revealed Hermione Granger at the desk once again (since it was a Monday after all).

She looked up when she heard the elevator's _ding_. "Good morning, Prof- Severus. How may I help you?" She smiled and he thought he saw a pink flush appear on her cheeks, but when he looked again it was gone.

He cleared his throat, "Just here for that two week check up, Miss Granger."

A frown appeared on her face. What had he said wrong? "Now, it is hardly fair for you to have me call you Severus, and for you to still address me as Miss Granger."

_Fair enough_, he thought to himself. "You're correct, Hermione. I apologize. I'll just show myself to the back room, if you don't mind."

The smile appeared back on her face. "Of course."

XOX

Hermione watched the clock. He had been back there for a couple hours. It would be just her luck that he would leave while she was on lunch break.

She scolded herself. It had been years since she'd seen him, much less think about him except for these past two weeks. Had one sighting really revived those feelings from Hogwarts? She thought she had left them and him back at the school. Apparently not, considering the way the past two weeks had gone.

The day after she saw him, she went into work and artfully struck up a friendly conversation with the Head Healer to discern when he would be coming back. She was pleased (and excited, though she wouldn't admit it to anybody) that it would only be two weeks instead of his customary three months. Unconsciously she started counting down the days. And this morning she found herself putting a little extra into her appearance. She was acting like she was thirteen again.

The hands of the clock moved ever closer to noon and she had to stop herself from staring down the hallway. Finally, the twelve chimes began. Hermione contemplated skipping lunch altogether, but then remembered that she worked a late shift tonight and wouldn't have another break till she got off. Logic won out and she gathered up her purse and coat and made for the elevator. She had just stepped in when she heard the Head Healer's voice.

"Well, we thank you very much for this new potion. So far, it seems to be working out quite well."

And then, the smooth silky voice that answered, "You're welcome. If you have any questions or problems, you know how to reach me."

Hermione proceeded to turn right back around and go back to her desk, pretending to forget her pocketbook. She misjudged where they were talking, and managed to bump right into the Potions Master.

"Profe-shoot-Severus! So sorry. Didn't mean to run into you. I was just heading out to lunch and realized I had forgotten my pocketbook at my desk. Just need to grab it and be off to the Leaky Cauldron." _Dang it_, she thought to herself. I'm rambling. She shut her mouth.

Severus looked at her bemusedly and before he could stop himself, spoke. "What a coincidence, I was just about to head there for lunch myself. Care for some company?"

She stumbled over her words, but managed a "Sure." They awkwardly got into the elevator together and rode down the four floors in silence. After a brief nod outside, they each disappeared with a _pop_.

They were seated at the Cauldron and ordered their lunch. The silence hung heavy in the air, until finally Severus Snape cleared his throat. "I see you have graduated from Avalon with your Healer's degree?"

She smiled. Of course he would start small talk with academics, but she didn't blame him, nor disagree with him. It would be an easy conversation for both of them.

"Yes, I graduated last May after interning at St. Mungo's. After graduation, they offered me a full time position and I've been working there the past few months."

"Excellent. What are you doing exactly right now?"

"Oh, just the very basics. Desk job and paperwork up in the Spell Damage department, but I do get to check patient stats every so often. I hope to eventually end up working with diseases on the second floor, but it will be a few more years before I get there."

"Of course. You do have to work your way up."

After that the conversation flowed effortlessly from disease, to potions, to schooling, and to what they had been up to the past few years. They both skirted around their respective significant others, but all in all, both felt rather pleased with the whole interaction.

When the bill came, Severus graciously offered to pay. Hermione of course put up the polite, "oh, no, really, that's ok," front, and Severus insisted.

"Well," Severus began, "it was nice to see you again. I hope everything goes well for you at the hospital."

Hermione pondered for a minute. He sounded so finite about the whole thing. Did that mean he didn't want to see her again? The lunch had seemed to go so well. Even if nothing romantic ever came from it, at least they could start a working friendship.

"Thank you. It was lovely to see you also. Perhaps next time you're In the area, we could have lunch again." There, she'd said she was available to see him again, but put the ball back in his court because he'd have to let her know when he was around. Perfect.

She saw his eyebrows go up a little. "Perhaps so, Hermione. I'll be in touch." And with that, he disappeared.

She smiled. He'd be in touch.


	4. In Touch

Severus didn't know what had happened to him back there. He'd told her he'd be in touch! It reminded him of the first time he had had lunch with Kathleen.

"Well," Severus began, "it was nice eating lunch with you."

"Same to you," Kathleen responded. "Perhaps, I'll see you around the bookshop."

"Indeed. I'll keep in touch."

But he hadn't kept in touch. His fear prevented him from stepping into the library for another three weeks. When he finally did, he greeted a very cold and distant Kathleen. She helped him find the book he was looking for and took his money without even so much as a glance or a smile. She handed him his change, thanked him, and wished him a good day. An obvious dismissal.

He didn't leave right away, but rather stood at the desk for a minute thinking it over. She continued to ignore him, until he finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry, but have I done something to offend you? Why are you acting so cold to me?"

She glared at him. "As if you don't know."

That took him aback a little. Obviously he didn't know if he was asking her. He was going to ask her again, but without a second glance in his direction, she marched towards the back room.

Puzzled, he left the store. That evening, he decided the only way to figure out what he had done wrong was to recount the entire luncheon he had spent with her. Nothing seemed amiss, until he got to the very end. The last words he had spoken to her were, "I'll keep in touch." Had Kathleen thought that three weeks was too long? Yes, he decided. She was upset at him for not being around.

He frowned. That wasn't very fair. She had no idea how busy he might have been. "But you weren't." said that damn little voice in his head. She was right.

The next day, he went back to the bookstore and apologized for not contacting her in any other way. Instantly, she warmed up to him and they set a date for dinner the following week.

Severus pondered his mistake the last time. Would Hermione get as angry as Kathleen had if he didn't contact her at all after saying he would? Maybe not as angry, but there was no point in finding out exactly how angry. He would wait until Thursday so as not to look too anxious and then send her an owl.

XOX

Hermione was a tad giddy for the rest of the day. He had said he'd be in touch. He wouldn't have said that if he didn't have an interest in seeing her again, right?

Unless he just threw it around flippantly and didn't really mean it at all. There was only one thing to do when trying to decipher men's coded language. Call Ginny.

The afternoon went by terribly slowly. When she finally got off at six, she apparated to Grimmauld Place at once.

Harry and Ginny continued dating after he left Hogwarts, and soon after she graduated a year later, he proposed. They had a lovely winter wedding the following December. James came along a year and a half later, and Lily just last March.

Being back around her friends made Hermione very happy; especially in times like this when she had no idea what to do and needed Ginny's advice.

She arrived just outside the place, knocked quickly, and waited. She could hear yelling children from inside, and soon a frazzled Harry answered the door.

"Hey! It's so good to see you," he scooped her up in a hug. "It seems like it's been awhile since we've gotten to see each other. Can you stay for dinner? I don't think Ginny will mind . . ."

"Of course not," Ginny called from somewhere inside the kitchen, though, Hermione could hear the exasperation in her voice. Harry led her to the kitchen. "I've made enough for one extra person, so you're quite welcome -" At that moment Ginny turned around and actually realized who was staying for dinner. "Hermione! I didn't realize it was you. I guess I won't be quite so angry at Harry anymore," she grinned at Hermione and embraced the older girl.

Harry had disappeared to attend to the yelling Lily and James, so Hermione guessed this was her chance. However, before she could start, Ginny had opened her mouth.

"Hermione, it seems like it's been forever! How have you been? How's the hospital? Any new men in you life? Come on, dish the dirt, girl!"

"One question at a time, Ginny!" Hermione laughed and gave Ginny a brief rundown of her new job.

Ginny turned to Hermione with a smirk on her face. "Well, that's all good and well, but we both know that's not the real information that I'm looking for here." Ginny nodded as a slight blush crept up Hermione's cheeks. "Let's hear it."

"Well," Hermione began cautiously. She wasn't about to let Ginny know who this actually was. "I ran into this guy whom I haven't seen in forever and we ended up having lunch. As we left, he said he'd be in touch. But, what the heck does that mean? Do you think it's just something he says all the time, or he really means it?"

Ginny paused as she thought and stirred the soup in the pot. "It's hard to say without knowing him better. Tell me about lunch. Was he interested in what you had to say?"

Hermione mused for a second, "Yes, I think so. He asked questions and responded accordingly."

"Then I think there's a shot that he meant he'd really be in touch. If he doesn't call you in a week or so, then, depending on how far you want to take this, either call him or don't worry about it anymore," Ginny replied as she started setting the table.

That was about all the conversation the two girls got in, because at that moment, James came bounding in with Harry and Lily close behind. Hermione shared a lovely meal with the Potters, catching up on recent events in their lives. She was sorry to leave a few hours later, but the kids needed to go to bed. She almost thought that the parents looked so tired that they needed sleep more than the kids.

Arriving back at her flat, Hermione showered and climbed into bed with a book to read for awhile, but when she found herself rereading the same paragraph over and over again, she turned off her light and went to sleep, hoping for a phone call soon.


	5. Friends

Hermione felt that she and Severus soon fell into a comfortable routine. She wouldn't call it dating, per say. (How would Severus react to that? How would her _friends_ react to that?). They kept their friendship on a fairly private level, often just sharing meals or evenings together at the other's flat.

A few weeks into this arrangement saw their first real argument. They were quietly reading together late one evening when Severus casually asked what Hermione was doing that weekend.

"I thought we might go to the theatre together," he said quite pleasantly.

Hermione mused over it a minute until it came to her. "I'd love to, but I almost forgot. Harry, Ginny, and I had plans to go to the country for a little weekend getaway. We had it planned ages ago, but I had forgotten about it till today." She paused and proceeded with hesitation. "Would you like to join us?" Hermione held her breath, and she was right to do so.

Snape sneered at her. "Hardly. I spent enough time with those blockheads while they were in school. There is no way I will voluntarily do so on my free time."

And with that Hermione lost her temper. "Those 'blockheads' are my friends, thank you very much. I will not stand by and listen to you insult them." With not so much as a goodbye, she disappeared with a pop.

_Damn, it_, thought Severus. As much as he didn't fancy the idea of spending time with Hermione's friends, he realized that was probably not the best thing to say to her. And calling them blockheads was probably not very bright either.

Come to think of it, her friends had actually done well for themselves considering. Potter had a decently high ranking job in the ministry for someone his age and had married the Weasley girl. Snape supposed that would qualify as successful.

Successful. The word triggered a memory in the back of Snape's mind. He got up and got a cup of tea as he tried to recall exactly what was nagging him. Successful friends . . .

Ah. He had once made a similar comment to Kathleen who flipped out quite like Hermione just did.

_*flashback*_

They were spending an evening at her parents' house for their annual Christmas party. It was quite tedious for Severus who didn't really know anybody except for Kathleen and the hosts who were quite busy attending to their other guests. He therefore found himself sitting at a table by himself with a drink in his hands while Kathleen mingled about catching up with old friends. She had tried to talk him into walking around with her, but he had declined.

After a time, she came and sat down with him and set a small plate of food in front of him. "Eat something, Severus, you must be starving."

Severus accepted the plate, but merely pushed the food around a little bit. "How much longer is our presence required here, Kathleen?"

She lightly punched him on the shoulder. "It's not all that bad. Oh, look! There's Sally. We were best friends growing up." Kathleen waved the girl over. "Do say hi and be nice."

The girls greeted each other with a kiss on each cheek and moved to sit down at the table with the potions master. "Sally, I'd like you to meet Severus Snape. Severus, this is my dear friend Sally Owens."

Sally's blue eyes went wide in recognition of the name of the famous war hero, but soon broke from her glazed-over look and shook the older man's hand. "Absolute pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Charmed, I'm sure," he replied dryly, but was rewarded with a sharp nudge in the side from Kathleen. He managed an awkward smile, but really hoped the two would just continue conversing among themselves.

"Sally, what are you doing now? Last we talked, you had taken up an apprenticeship in . . . charms?"

Sally flipped her blonde hair out of her face. "Yes, I started in charms, but the master and I soon realized it was a bad idea. He quickly referred me to potions and I've been studying ever since. I must say that I'm quite excited to make your acquaintance, Master Snape. I follow your work quite closely," she turned to the man in question with enthusiasm.

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Wonderful to hear," he replied with almost no emotion.

"Excuse him, Sally, he has a bit of a headache this evening. I had to drag him along," Kathleen said with a subtle leer in his direction. Severus knew she didn't like making excuses for him. A part of him felt slightly guilty for being so anti-social at her parents' gathering, but he just really did not wish to be here.

The two girls continued talking for a short time, then Sally rose to leave. They embraced with an exchange of promises to keep in touch and it was once again just the two of them. Severus could feel the glare emanating off of Kathleen and therefore avoided looking at her.

"Severus," she began with a warning in her voice. "Is it really that difficult for you to be even a little bit polite and, dare I say it, accommodating to people you meet here?"

His eyes narrowed in her direction. "Yes, it is, especially when I didn't want to go somewhere in the first place. I have little patience for _accommodating_ your little friends who barely know what they want to do with their lives, much less could offer any intelligent conversation on the subject of potions to one such as myself."

Kathleen's eyes flared in his direction, and for just a second, he was slightly scared. "My _little_ friends as you so put it, are just that, my friends. And that, at this very moment, is more than I can say for how I feel about you." Before Severus could argue with her, she had stalked off into the crowd.

Snape had sat around at the table for awhile before realizing she wasn't coming back. He debated telling her parents thank you and goodbye before leaving, but then realized that either Kathleen had already explained the situation to them which would make talking to them very awkward, or he'd probably have to explain it himself which was not appealing in the list. With that decided, he disappeared from the party and ended up in his kitchen where he quickly found a flask of Firewhiskey.

*_end flashback_*

It had taken Snape a good week to get Kathleen to talk to him again and convince her that he was just in a really bad mood that evening and hadn't meant anything he'd said.

But looking back on it, it wasn't totally true. He didn't really care for her friends and that seemed to be quite a problem in their relationship. It was obvious that Hermione felt the same way about her friends as Kathleen did hers.

Snape considered this for a moment. Come to think of it, he hadn't known Sally well enough to make a judgment as to whether or not he liked her. On the other hand, he had known Hermione's friends for years, and hated them for most of them.

But was there any hate left to be found there? His hatred from Harry stemmed from his love for the boy's mother, but Snape had found that the pain of Lily had been numbed by the affection he now felt for Hermione. There was no other reason to dislike the boy, and, as he looked back over the past few years, the short interactions they had, had actually been, dare he say it, pleasant.

The only reason he originally felt a dislike for Ginny was because of her association with Harry. And when you got right down to it, she was a smart witch. He winced, thinking of her Bat-Bogey hexes.

He pondered it for awhile longer and then, with the realization that he was at least slightly in the wrong firmly in place, he decided to try to go find Hermione. She was probably at the Potters'. This would be the true test.

XOX

Hermione had gone straight over to Grimmauld Place. Ginny was the only person who currently knew of her budding relationship with Severus and she really needed her friend. The red-head had wanted to tell Harry because she didn't think she could keep a secret from him, but after the stern look she received from her friend, she made it a top priority in her mind to keep it from him. She felt slightly guilty, but knew that withholding the information from Harry wasn't going to hurt him and it was Hermione's right to tell him when she pleased.

Ginny answered the door and immediately ushered the upset older girl. She sat her down in the dining room and went to put the kettle on. While she waited on the water to heat, she sat down next to her friend with an inquiring look.

"Is Harry around?" Hermione asked suspiciously before she began. Ginny shook her head. "Alright. Well, if you haven't already figured it out, it's Snape." And Hermione laid the whole thing out for her friend.

Ginny thought on it while the kettle went off and she made tea. She handed a steaming mug to Hermione, "You do realize, Hermione, that if you had brought him along, you would have had to explain to Harry and the whole trip could have blown up in your face, right?"

Hermione cringed. "I thought of that after the fact, but yes. What I really need to do is talk to him about coming clean with more people first, huh?"

Ginny nodded and was about to say something else when there was another knock at the door. "Sorry, just a minute, Hermione."

She dashed off to the door and Hermione was surprised to hear the deep voice of Severus.

"Sorry to bother you, Mrs. Potter, but I was wondering if Hermione is here?" he asked with more politeness in his voice than Hermione had ever thought she'd hear.

"Please, Professor, you can call me Ginny." She chanced a glance to the dining room and received a nod of affirmation from the other girl. "Yes, she's just in the dining room. Right this way."

He nodded curtly and followed her. Upon reaching the dining room, Ginny felt she could cut the tension with a knife and therefore quickly made an excuse about tending to Lily and slipped out.

Snape was now faced with working up everything he had planned to say. "Hermione, I, uh, well, you see,"

"Severus, I was wrong," Hermione interrupted. "It was wrong of me to expect you to automatically adjust to having my friends in your life just because I am. It is also unreasonable to expect you to start liking them without having spent any time with them outside of the classroom and in social situations. And to ask you to spend a whole weekend with them was just a ridiculous idea."

Snape didn't know how to respond. He hadn't anticipated her apologizing at all. Well, then he didn't have to, right?

No, that wasn't right. What was it that Albus had always said? _It takes two to tango._ There were always two sides to an argument and it was his responsibility in an equal part of this relationship to admit his own wrongdoing in this situation.

"You are right, Hermione, but I also need to apologize. I thought it out this evening after you left and realized that my initial dislike for your friends is no longer valid and that I should give them a chance as people, rather than the students I had years ago. Perhaps joining them this weekend is not ideal, but perhaps if we invited them over for dinner sometime next week?"

Hermione smiled and reached up to kiss him on the lips just as Harry Potter appeared before them.

A/N: I know, that's pretty evil of me, but I'm on a roll with writing right now. You might just get lucky with another chapter sooner rather than later.


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